Reflecting on major life goals yet again

And what I need to do daily to achieve them. 

I feel like I write these a lot. I probably just need to find something that works and stick to it. Therein lies the rub, though. I have been steadily improving, but I still am not moving at what I would consider to be a "going to make it in a reasonable amount of time" cadence. 

So, here we go again. I will keep iterating until I get something that sticks. Since I'm working tonight but not actively doing anything just yet while the code is deployed. And since I'm caffeinated on a Sunday, which is rare (and may take tomorrow off to reset the adenosine receptors). 

Sundays are always a weak day for me. That's fine -- day of rest and all -- but I would like to start making at least some form of forward momentum. 

Goal #1: Published novelist, artist, and game dev. 

It's always been my goal to be a writer, ever since the second grade. Art and game dev came later, in late high school / early college. The goal is to live full-time off of these things. I may also add freelance software dev into the mix, though I'm not sure yet. 

Action Items:

  • Hit 400 words of writing a day via sprints. 
  • Increase reading cadence, targeting 1 book a week. 
  • Work on long-term art projects (i.e. web graphic novels) even if my art skills aren't quite there yet. 
  • 1 art course at a time for 2D, 1 art course at a time for 3D. 
  • Start building a portfolio and demo reel using the 50% rule time from Drawabox. If it sucks, it sucks, we can always remake or iterate on it. 
  • Game daily. 
  • But also work on game development after gaming, and watch some channels, streamers, etc. Juniper Dev is a good one. 
Goal #2: Top software engineer and computer scientist who also has extensive IT knowledge. 

What I mean by this is, increase my skills and knowledge to the point where 
  • a top company would hire me, AND
  • I am making significant contributions to open-source projects, AND
  • I have launched my own products and published papers. 
I can't control which companies hire me, really. But I can control my skills. 

Action Items:
  • I just need to spend more time coding and studying IT each day so I will try and finish my engineering block before lifting each morning, giving me time before work to code. 
  • Additionally, trying to solve one Leetcode problem per day is a great start. Right now I think I've solved...three...in total. Ope!
  • I am wanting to study more computer graphics and dedicate time to it each day right alongside my work on trying to publish Foam Fraction Flow. 
Goal #3: Prepping for engineering and designing my theme park resort.

The initial goal is to just build it virtually as a world that everyone can explore. But I'd still like to make it a real thing. 

Action Items:
  • I would like to increase the cadence of my math studies. I at least solve a problem or two each morning before lifting. 
  • PLC studies are about where I want them for now. 
  • Embedded systems: try to do them in the morning. If not, in between evening blocks
  • Design the resort each morning. I'm already finalizing my parks, lands, and hotels. 

Goal #4 (Supplementary): Master lucid dreamer.

This is just for my own personal satisfaction, as well as increasing my imagination and doing cool experiments. For now, I am just continuing what I've been doing for the DreamViews Spring 2025 Lucid Dreaming Competition as it is helping. 
  • I would also like to do the Gateway tapes each week
  • And review Raduga's Phasing method each Friday so I can practice it over the weekend. 

Goal #5 (Supplementary): Travel blogging.

I would like to make Amusement and Airtime something more substantial than just trip reports! Though I will still do those, I think it would be nice to, for example, analyze parks from a design/engineering perspective alongside touring tips, or something like that. I could also cover cruises (and I have been daydreaming about Coco Cay all day today, sooooo...) and other travel destinations. Like Hawaii! My parents are in Oahu right now and I want to go so badly. 

Goal #6 (Supplementary): Fitness and music.

I want to take both of those quite far. I have systems in place so I just need to make sure I do a better job of hitting my targets. 

*


Most of these objectives are already built into my schedule. I just need to do more and miss fewer days. 


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